My Charge the Mermaid
by heytherepanda
Summary: AU: Axel is a bounty hunter that gets hired by a strange man who wants to hunt mermaids, but mermaids weren't supposed to be real. Well they weren't, until Axel caught one. But it seems that his employer has more sinister plans for his game.
1. Chapter 1

When I was a kid, I remember my grandmother used to tell me stories. All kinds, about anything. There were stories about where spiderwebs came from, why there was dew on the grass every morning, ones about the nymphs that live in the forests. I always had a favorite, though. The stories that my grandmother swore were true, and somehow I believed it, too.

Mermaids.

She used to tell me that they were beautiful beyond human comprehension. She said that they would sing for the gods because it was so beautiful. She swore she saw them once, when she was little. She saw a beautiful mermaid, heard her sing her song.

My grandmother died a few years ago. I still think about her sometimes, and the stories she told me. "Lea!" she'd tell me, "This world is too beautiful to think we're the only ones living here! Keep your eyes peeled and you'll see, your old grandma's got an eye for this sorta thing!" She was a spunky old lady, that was for sure.

I think she'd be sad to see me now. I didn't grow up to be rich, I didn't become a good guy like my grandmother thought I would. I didn't even grow up to have the same name.

To be honest I think maybe it's about time for a change in scenery. I mean, a few of the other guys already left, there's not many of us left anyway. I wonder what other job I could do. When I was a kid I wanted to be a blitzball player, I was always pretty good at it.

I look around my work space and frown at it, as if being angry at it will turn it into a flooded blitzball stadium. It's a dark place, damp and sometimes it smells like something died. Actually, I wouldn't doubt that something _had_.

Among the remaining few members of what used to be a rag-tag team of hunters, I was one of the scouts. I wasn't allowed to fight much, simply because when I _did _I usually hurt myself or broke stuff, so that'd come out of our clean-out pay.

Lemme back up for a second, though. I'll explain my job first. Essentially we're what you call "cleaners." Some people call us "sweepers" too but that's not the point. We get hired to clean out towns and widespread areas of these creatures called the Heartless, which are basically pests made of shadows. Sometimes it's like fighting your own shadow with these things, but the job pays good munny. Cleaning up Heartless hot spots isn't our only job. We also take bounties, which I guess could make me a badass bounty hunter. But these bounties are for large game, Heartless that normal cleaners can't handle. Take down just one of these bad boys and you'll be set for months in munny. Now, here's where the "bad guy" part of this job comes in. The part I'm sure my grandma would die all over again if I told her about it.

While munny is all wonderful and dandy, there's also the _other _kind of bounty hunting. The kind that isn't for cleaners, just for guys willing to get their hands on some dirty cash. Assassins. Hit-men. Whatever you want to call them. We take people out, and we do it for a pay that some people work years to get.

Sometimes I wish my workplace, though, didn't match how I felt about my actual work. I didn't like my job, really. It was just something I was able to do at the time, when I was in a rough spot and on my own.

I get enough munny doing this now that I can live comfortably by myself, and I'm sure that if I wanted to I could get a job somewhere else. But where? My boss wasn't the nice type, and something tells me the ones who _did _get out paid a hefty price.

This job was like being a prostitute: it's a last resort.

I grow tired of looking at the damp underground of the Cleaner's Alley, a bar dedicated to our kind of people, and make my way upstairs. This entire shop is a place where bounty hunters and cleaners can get jobs, get requested, have a drink, what have you. By a mousy kind of girl, real cutie, though. She's the nice type and it kinda makes me wonder how she got tied into this whole business. Everyone has to make a living I guess, and her and her husband do a nice job taking care of us cleaners.

She sees me coming up and smiles at me. I have to admit, the upstairs that actually sees the light of day is much nicer than the downstairs. I sit at the bar, seeing that I'm one of the few that have ventured into the outside world. "Hey, Minnie," I greet her.

She sets a glass of water in front of me. "You don't look so good. You okay?"

I sigh. She's a real sweetheart, I tell you. "Yeah," I take a sip, "Just having second thoughts, I guess. It's not everyday you have a midlife crisis at twenty-three."

She giggles and her voice really reminds me of a real mouse. She flips her bobbed black hair over her shoulder and just looks at me with a little smile, like she knows something that I don't. "Axel, you worry too much. Keep doing that and you'll surely look as old as you sound!"

I laugh back at her, enjoying the light company. "I dunno, Minnie, I just think...maybe it's time for a change. Y'know? I'm still young, maybe I can do something better with my life. Something that isn't so..."

"You're worried about the blood money."

Hearing her say that is so odd that it gives _me _a bad taste in my mouth. But, the truth is the truth. I suspect she's already dealt with this a few times with other hunters, yet another nickname for my profession.

I swirl what's left of the water in the glass and she puts a little bit of alcohol in it, mixing it with the water. She knows just what I need, bless her heart. "Yeah, I guess I am. I've just been thinking lately. About my grandma. She used to tell me I could be anything, any_body_ I wanted! And I let her down by becoming this."

"Axel! Don't talk about yourself like that!" she snaps. I stare wide eyed and a little intimidated by her. For someone so small, she was very assertive. "You do what you have to, most everyone here is in the same position you are. We don't do this because we like it. We do it because _someone _has to do it. And you are very good at your job, don't forget that!" Despite how serious she's being, she kinda reminds me of Snow White with her hair and high voice. For a second I wonder if birds ever flock to her when she sings.

I sigh again-how many times have I done that?

"I guess."

Just then the post boy comes in and pins some new bounties on the board. He comes in every week, taking down the old bounties that aren't available anymore and putting up fresh ones, if there are any. When he leaves, Minnie pushes my shoulder lightly. "Why don't you take a solo job? I'm sure you need some time to yourself. Xemnas will understand. And if he doesn't, I'll tell him to."

I laugh wholeheartedly. "You really know what to say to a guy, Minnie." She giggles and goes back to cleaning some glasses and serving the other two guys sitting at the bar.

I swivel around in my chair and go check out the new hunts available. Some lowlife guy, not much pay in that one. A good job for a rookie, though, maybe I'll let that new girl get in on it. I scan and scan, most of the jobs are for low level hunters, kids who are still learning the ropes.

That's when I see it.

It's in big black letters, but the poster isn't very big. "**HUNT FOR A MERMAID**." I can't even believe that's what it says and I yank it from the board, holding it closer. A mermaid? Seriously?

Yep, it still says the same thing in big black letters. Little information about the job is given, just that if a skilled hunter is interested, call the given number. I stare at it, mouth agape. I look up at Minnie and she's already on the phone, and she looks at me and winks. I just chuckle and sit in my previous seat as she hands the phone to me. She already knew that pin was up there and that I'd grab it. A saint, that girl is.

The phone rings for was feels like ages. Finally, someone picks up and I hear a deep and stern voice. "Hello?"

"Yeah, hey, I'm calling about the hunting job? You need a skilled cleaner?"

"Yes."

". . . Well-"

"I assume you're offering your services. Meet me at the pier tonight. Ten o'clock. Don't be late."

I almost choke. This guy is really upfront, and it's kind of intimidating. "The dock? Why-"

"It's a mermaid hunt, you should probably start in the ocean."

I feel my cheeks burn and already this guy is starting to irk me.

"Ten o'clock," he says again and he hangs up.

I hang the phone on its reciever and Minnie walks back over to me. "So? What'd he say? You got the job?"

I stare at the wrinkled paper again, then look at her. I wave it in my fingers and chuckle. "Looks like I'm goin' fishing."

* * *

**I've been having a lot of fan fiction ideas lately. This one is playing with the idea of a mermaid AU.**


	2. Chapter 2

To be honest I never much cared for water. I mean, I was like any other kid, I could piss myself at the idea of going to a pool in the summer. But the _ocean _wasn't a pool.

Well...I guess it _could _be. But it'd be a total poser.

The idea of a deep, dark puddle that reaches all over the world...yeah, not doing it for me. I could drone on about how the ocean gives me chills. But at night, especially at the dark hour of ten, on a rickety-ass pier that no one even uses (and I mean honestly this guy couldn't have picked the one with that nice ice cream stand next to it)? Yeah, I've seen enough movies to know I'll probably die here.

I check my watch for the God-knows-how-many-th time. It's almost ten past the hour; and he was worried _I'd_ be late. What an ass.

Just then the wooden pier creaks and before my heart can jump on a boat and sail out of my chest, I turn around and there's a tall man covered in a long red cape with thickly sewn designs. He's huge, for one, and not as old as I pictured him.

He stares at me for a while and my eyes shift. I'm not one for a polite introduction, if I'm gonna be honest, one of my few flaws. He doesn't look pleased with my lack of voice and his eyebrows furrow. "I assume you're the cleaner I spoke to on the phone."

I clear my throat and shift to the other foot. God, his voice is even deeper in person. "Yeah. You're looking for a good cleaner, right? Fishin' for a mermaid or something?"

He looks a little irked; something told me he wasn't one for humor. "I want a cleaner that is willing to thoroughly search underwater for a mermaid. And bring it to me alive. If it's dead, no pay."

I scratch my neck a little, not totally sold yet. "What does this include, exactly? I'm no swimmer, buddy. Dunno if I can actually swim down there to look. And besides, even if I could, where would I look?"

"A cleaner that can't swim? Maybe you're not as skilled as I thought."

"Hey, excuse you, I do my job well enough."

"All you would have to do is swim around until you see a mermaid. Catch it, bring it back."

I sigh, my foot starts tapping. "Okay, so-let's say I do catch sight of something. I wouldn't be able to swim fast enough to catch it to bring it to you. In case you haven't heard the legends about mermaids, they swim way too fast for any human to catch up to them. Trying to go that fast would kill a human before you'd reach 'em."

He finally shows some kind of facial change. Thank God, I was starting to think maybe his face was stuck. "What would you try, then? Surely you didn't come here with no idea of what you might end up doing."

I look at the boats lined up in the water and wave to them lazily. "Exactly what I said, fishing. Lay out some nets, maybe through a line, I dunno. Something that doesn't involve me going in the water."

He quirks an eyebrow at me and folds his arms. "You think it'll just take a bite out of your hook? These creatures are incredibly advanced, they're not some little goldfish."

In a way I kinda want to ask if this guy was like...crazy. I mean the town had a lot of mermaid stories, like the ones my grandma told me. Kids all over this town grew up hearing them. But no one had really _seen _one, or at least no one that was believed. I'm starting to think maybe this guy is seeing a Heartless that has taken the form of a fish, maybe he thinks it's a mermaid.

"No offense, mister, but why do you even want a mermaid? You sure you're not looking for some Heartless shaped like a fish?"

He clicks his tongue and turns away from me to face the water. "No, those things are real. I know they are. Trust me. What I'm looking for is half man, half fish. A thing of stories that lives right under our feet. Listen, I'm a scientist. Research is...everything. No one has been able to study a mermaid before, this would be a huge breakthrough to the scientific community." He pauses then looks at me with sharp eyes. Jesus, if his eyes were daggers...

"If you don't want this job, then stop wasting my time, I'll find someone who does."

I weigh the idea. I mean, worst case scenario, I don't find anything and I gotta break it to this guy that the mermaid stories are just that-they're stories.

Best case scenario, I do find something, get a lot of money, and I can say I caught a mermaid before any fisherman. Nothing quite like bragging rights.

I think on it and the man looks like he's growing impatient. I sigh and hold out my hand palm up to shake his, a cleaner's sign that they are yours to command for the job. He places one hand below mine and the other over my wrist.

We grab each other's wrist in a firm grasp and shake; in the cleaner community, this is the binding contract.

He nods and for once, he smiles. "I am Ansem."

I nod back to him. "Axel."


End file.
